Isn’t she beautiful?!

One of the things that Michelle said in her interview that also worked for me; Stop looking at the scale and measuring tape and just hit the gym and your calorie budget!  It was actually the first time I’d heard of someone else following the same method I used to protect my psychic space, except she had Jake recording her metrics without her looking at the scale or tape measure!  How clever is that? What an awesome team Jake and Michelle make.  I loved hearing it.  John held up the interview for a moment to give us all a few words about the value of doing just that.

Just focus on the process day after day for weeks on end.  Just do what you need to do, and track it with on a calendar or online tracking tool – track the PROCESS.  If you know you are really doing the process and not eating extra that is not accounted for (diet is usually the hardest part) then it will work.  But you will not get the linear feedback that matches the linear day to day effort.  You have to be patient and wait for the progress.  Watching water boil or grass grow is no fun – do what ever else you need to do while waiting.

-Ro

Michelle placed First in our VT-9 Transformation contest.

In the end, I am completely shocked by the outcome! I have never been so confident in a bikini in my life! The best part is that without knowing it, not only was I losing fat throughout the program, but I started building muscle and a shape that I have never seen before and didn’t even know I had!

Here is what she has to say in her own words:

My name is Michelle Hahn, and I am 31 years old. I have been self-conscious about my weight since I can remember and never remember feeling comfortable and happy with my size/shape.

 I have been exercising on and off since I was a teenager, and the closest I think I came to comfort with my weight was when I got married 5 and a half years ago. Even then, I remember wishing my stomach was flatter and feeling uncomfortable in my bikini on our honey moon.

 Over the following 4 ½ years, the scale kept creeping up and before I knew it, I had gained 35 pounds and was feeling horrible.

 I started trying different exercise and diet programs, only to fail again and again, which took a toll on my confidence in ever changing. And even after all my efforts, nothing fit, I had to keep buying bigger and bigger sizes, and was on the border between regular and plus size clothing. In November of 2012, my husband and I started seriously thinking about having children, and I really started to think about the impact my extra weight would have on my pregnancy, the baby, and the ability to bounce back after the pregnancy, and also about how I had never really felt good about myself physically.

 I decided that it was time to get in the best shape of my life, to feel great about myself finally, and to adopt a lifestyle of healthy eating and exercise to set an example for our child(ren) so they wouldn’t struggle with weight the way I have my whole life.

 First I tried a workout that was 3-4 days per week and concentrated on certain muscle groups in each workout. I was very consistent with that, started regular cardio workouts, and started counting calories. I eventually got bored with it, and my husband had found Adonis and started it in January, and he had great things to say about it and it sounded very interesting, so I ended up buying the original Venus program in March.

 I started the program and actually entered the contest in May, but at the time, I was in grad school and had a lot of stress and deadlines, so ended up missing workouts and gained back about 15 of the 23 pounds I had lost since the previous November.

When school was basically over towards the end of July, I rededicated and decided to enter the September contest. We had decided to start trying to get pregnant after we take a vacation in December, and I also booked a photo shoot for motivation.

Over the 12 weeks, I definitely had ups and downs. There were times when I had moments of weakness and went over my calories, but overall, I was pretty consistent with sticking with my weekly calories based on the virtual nutritionist calculations. I completed the original venus program and most of the final phase program within the 12 weeks by doing 4-5 workouts per week throughout the contest.

 I took progress pics along the way, and my husband was a huge support throughout the process, especially the last week. I also was lucky enough to have the help of Allen Elliott, who planned out my workouts and diet for the last week leading up to the final pics. Amazing of him to do that, and the results really showed in my final pictures.

 In the end, I am completely shocked by the outcome! I have never been so confident in a bikini in my life! The best part is that without knowing it, not only was I losing fat throughout the program, but I started building muscle and a shape that I have never seen before and didn’t even know I had!

 And what was great was that I just had to follow the workouts that were already designed to do that for me, and I didn’t have to consciously think about how to build certain muscles to create the shape that would look best, which is good because I wouldn’t have known how. It was crazy because I just followed the programs and by the end, I had a figure that hours of cardio and calorie counting (which is what I think a lot of women do to just get “thin” and end up with no shape) could never have gotten me to.

 The best thing about Venus in my opinion is that while it is definitely challenging, it is not impossible to stick with because it is not so extreme that the majority could not sustain it. And what helps with making it so easy to sustain is the variety.

 I loved how the workouts were different every day because I never got bored. For the first time in my life, I actually enjoy working out. There are times it is still difficult to get to the gym, but once I am there, I actually enjoy the time I have set aside to improve my body.

 And Venus is the program I will definitely stick with for life because it finally made me successful in getting the body and the comfort with my body that I’ve always wanted. I know it will help me maintain a healthy lifestyle throughout my pregnancies and help me bounce back more quickly afterwards. I’m just so glad I am finally done searching for what works.

 Contest inputs:

 Height 70″

 Start weight 167 lbs, shoulders 44″, waist 31″, hips 42″

End weight 147 lbs, shoulders 42″, waist 27″, hips 38″

After the contest Michelle enjoyed a vacation with her husband Jake.

Listen to Michelle’s interview here, and please “like” it when you’re done:

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